Vol. 2 No. 31
-- December 24, 2008
So, This Is Christmas
Peace on earth
and good
will to all men. Those are the
sentiments of this and every other
Christmas season. Oh, if only it were
true. But, of course, it
isn't. That irony is particularly true
this Christmas season,
what with the American nation embroiled in
armed conflict in the Middle
East and staggering from economic turmoil at
home. Of course,
Christmas is a time of eternal hope springing
from its religious
narrative. The promise of Christmas, along
with the eternal optimism of
the American people, makes us believe -- or at
least want to believe --
that things are not all that bad. On this
Christmas Eve, I am alone at
home by my own choice. I will spend
time in the coming hours
with good friends, but, for the most part,
have chosen to make this
particular Christmas a time of reflection.
The last two
Christmases have been tinged with loss of
loved ones -- Rita Fillman,
Arthur Southard and Joe Fillman in 2006 and my
wife, Jan, in 2007.
During those years, I put up a brave and
somewhat defiant front - a
sort of "Merry Christmas, damn it!" kind of
front. I don't have
the energy for that this year. As much
as I would enjoy the
company of both my families, the Guths and the
Fillmans, my sense is
that I need some "down time" to heal my
wounded soul. Please
don't misunderstand - I am not sitting alone
in grief and desperation.
It is just that on this particular
Christmas, I feel the
need to seek peace in my own way. And as
I seek this peace, my
wish is that there truly be good will toward
all in the coming year.
That's it for
now. Merry Christmas and Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 30
-- December 10, 2008
Give the Chair to the Hair
Rod Blagojevich
is
beneath contempt. He's the governor -- at
least for now -- of Illinois.
And he was arrested yesterday for, among
other things. trying to
sell the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by
President-elect Barrack
Obama. If that's not enough, federal
prosecutors said Blagojevich was
looking to pull $8 million in funding for a
children's hospital after
the hospital's chief executive officer did not
give a $50,000
contribution to the governor's campaign.
There were also
concerns that Blagojevich would soon sign
into law a bill that
would direct a percentage of casino revenue to
the horse racing
industry -- a bill supported by someone who
contributed $100,000.
In case you are thinking about "innocent
until proven guilty,"
forget it. They've got this clown dead
to rights. Legal experts
say that on the basis of the allegations
surfacing in FBI wiretaps,
this may be just the tip of iceberg.
Blagojdevich, whose hair is
almost as big as his ego, is under increasing
pressure to resign.
The way I see it, this is more than a
case of another corrupt
Illinois politician (and there sure have been
a lot of them).
This slimeball's despicable acts
constitute treason and merit
nothing less than the death penalty.
This may be the worst abuse
of public trust since Benedict Arnold.
And if you think I am
kidding when I am talking about capital
punishment for Blagojevich, I
am not. I am serious when I say let's
give the chair to the hair!
Every breath that man takes is a waste
of good oxygen.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 29
-- November 27, 2008
Melancholy Thanksgiving
This is my 56th
Thanksgiving, and it is like no other that I
have known. To the
best of my knowledge, there has been only one
other Thanksgiving I have
been away from family. That was 1972,
when I spent the day
working in the film developing lab at WMAL-TV
in Washington. D.C.
I was still a student at the University
of Maryland and took the
opportunity to take in a few extra hours in my
part-time job. I
got home to the Eastern Shore to be with my
family on Goose Neck very
late in the evening - and actually got to eat
a little leftover
turkey. However, in the final analysis,
it wasn't much of a
holiday. This year, my daughter is in Florida
with my brother's family.
I could have gone, but am weary of
pretending to be thankful
when, in reality, I am not. And while I am
healing from my wife's
sudden, tragic death in March 2007, I am
acutely aware of her absence
on this holiday. I can't describe the
pain I feel, nor can I deny
it. And while I am in a developing
relationship that holds great
promise, I am faced with the widower's dilemma
- can one be faithful to
two women? And the Lord knows that I do not
wish to hurt either one.
But beyond that, I find little reason for joy,
hope or promise. The
highs are not all that high, and the lows seem
bottomless.
However, there is one consolation - the
knowledge that I am not
the first person to survive a beloved spouse's
death. I know of
many who have gone on to live happy lives -
perhaps one thing to be
thankful for on this melancholy Thanksgiving.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 28
-- November 22, 2008
Case Closed
Forty-five
years ago
today, the world changed in the time it took a
bullet to travel from a
sixth floor window of a textbook warehouse to
the street below. President John F.
Kennedy said in his
inaugural address that he represented "a new
generation of Americans."
Less than three years later, he was
assassinated while riding a
motorcade through the street of Dallas. November
22, 1963, is a date burned into the memories
of those who lived through
it. I was sitting on the stage of the
cafetorium at St. Michaels
Elementary School in St. Michaels, Maryland,
when Principal Chuck Jones
interrupted a film strip on the "Cradle of
Civilization" to break the
news over the public address system.
I notice in this
morning's local paper a story about yet
another yahoo who has come up
with a new conspiracy theory. Starting
with Mark Lane's severely
flawed Rush
to Judgment in
1966, numerous pseudo-experts have found it
hard to believe that Lee
Harvey Oswald acted alone. Yet he did.
That's what I
believe. Gerald Posner's 1993 book on the
assassination, Case Closed,
is the best-documented and least speculative
on the topic. Posner
wrote that, with the exception of a few minor
errors, that the Warren
Commission got it right. That may be
hard for the Oliver Stones
of the world to fathom, but Posner's work
remains the definitive study
of the Kennedy assassination. And let's
face it: Does anyone
believe that the federal government is clever
enough to masterfully
orchestrate a complex conspiracy that will
remain uncovered after 45
years? We are not talking about the
George Bush "Katrina"
government. We are talking about the
Lyndon Johnson "there's a
light at the end of the tunnel in Vietnam"
government. However,
there is one way to end the speculation once
and for all. On his first
day in office, President Obama should
declassify all archived
information pertaining to the Kennedy
assassination. Then and only
then, can we spend this date remembering the
man and not all of the
nut-case theories behind his death.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 27
-- November 5, 2008
A Self-Inflicted Wound
The longest,
most
expensive, most exciting and, at times, most
annoying election campaign
has concluded with the election of an
African-American as
President of the United States of America.
Barrack Obama's
victory over John McCain was hardly
unexpected. The polls had
been steadily widening in Obama's favor,
while the dour economic
news ended any chance of a McCain upset.
This was the tenth
presidential election in which I have voted.
I have a
record of five wins and five losses - hardly
good enough to make the
playoffs. But the true measure of
success will come much later,
as the President-elect assumes power and
places his personal stamp on
history. This election also marked the
only the second time I
crossed party lines and voted for "the
other guy" -- not counting
the one election in which I was a registered
Democrat. Yes, I was
once, briefly, a Democrat. There was a period
that I was so angry
with social conservatives in the Republican
Party that I changed my
voter registration. But I came back to
the party, hoping it would
return to its traditional roots, the
championing of individual rights
and a commitment to fiscal responsibility.
I am also
uncomfortable with the Democratic
Party's philosophy of
entitlement without accountability. Following
this year's election, I
am not sure where my political "home" is.
It is not that I have
changed my values. It is that the
Republican Party strayed from
its own. And the result is the electoral
wreckage the GOP must now
confront. As for President-elect Obama
-- good luck and God speed.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 26
-- October 18, 2008
My Choice
For almost as
long as I
can remember, Washington has been infected
with a poisonous,
mean-spirited affliction that has turned our
nation's politics into
blood sport. Perhaps it has always been
that way. One need
look only at the election of 1800 to find the
seeds of bitter
partisanship. However, when one focuses
on the dangers Americans
face at home and abroad, we no longer have the
luxury of partisan
pettiness. We need elected officials who
will rise above the din
and speak with clarity of purpose and a
single-minded commitment to
American values - a voice we have not heard
from either this White
House or the Democratic congressional
leadership. Our last two
presidents were distinctly different men, both
talented in their own
ways, but who ultimately escaped greatness
because they failed to
listen to their better angels. The first was
arrogant and reckless.
The second was stubborn and lazy.
This year, we have to get
it right. We need a leader capable of
bringing real change to the
body politic - someone willing to change the
tone and lower the
temperature. John McCain is a true
American hero with real
credentials as a bipartisan leader. But
he also has a track
record as a feisty, sometimes combative, and
occasionally erratic
politician. His selection of Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin as his
running mate was both bold and curious.
There are also questions
about Barrack Obama. He is
inexperienced, has made questionable
personal associations and has a reputation for
being arrogant.
However, he has run a brilliant
campaign. has inspired millions
of young Americans, and demonstrated a
willingness to reach across the
aisle and compromise. His election would
sound a clarion to the
rest of the world that the United States of
America is still a
revolutionary society that dreams big,
is committed to promoting
the general welfare, and still seeks to secure
the blessings of liberty
for ourselves and our posterity. It is
on this basis that my
choice for President of the United States is
Barrack Obama.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 25
-- October 15, 2008
The Final Debate: Style Over Substance
Tonight's third
and final
2008 presidential debate did little, if
anything, to change the
political landscape. In the final analysis,
that's good news for
Barrack Obama and bad news for John McCain.
Tonight, as in the other
two debates, McCain was the aggressor - a
tactic one expects of the
candidate trailing in the polls.
If this debate was scored
in the manner in which one judges a high
school debate, unbiased
observers would probably tell you that McCain
won on points.
While Obama did well in his answers, McCain
provided greater
specificity in his responses more often than
his opponent. McCain
was also very good at pointing out where Obama
parsed his words. But
this was not a high school debate. As
some pundits have said, the
real focus of this exercise was to determine
whether Barrack Obama
passed the "looks and acts presidential" test.
He's passed it
with flying colors. As noted in an
earlier post (Sept. 8 - Vol.2 No. 20),
Obama was in much the same position Ronald
Reagan was in his one and
only debate with President Jimmy Carter in
1980. Then, as now,
the country was screaming for change and
blamed both the man in the
White House and his party. Once the American
people were convinced that
Reagan was not the reckless cowboy that
Carter's allies had painted him
to be, the party-in-power's last chance at
savaging the election had
faded. It think that's what happened here
tonight. In these times
and in this context, Obama's style trumps
McCain's substance.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 24
-- October 12, 2008
Knock It Off
The two hottest
issues
confronting University of Kansas students this
fall are the
presidential election and "the chant."
You probably know about
the first one. For the uninitiated, the
chant is an obscene cheer
uttered by the student section at Memorial
Stadium every time the
Jayhawk football team kicks off. Taken
from the Adam Sandler
movie The
Waterboy, the
students shout with glee, "Knock his
<<bleeping>> head
off." They continued to do this at
yesterday's game, despite
requests that they refrain from doing so by
administrators,
student leaders, the KU student
newspaper and even coach Mark
Mangino. I understand why students do
this. It is youthful
rebellion. They do it because the
authorities are powerless to
stop them. In short, for the first time
in their lives, they feel
like they have real power. But, of course,
that is not true.
Since the age of 18, they have had the
power to vote. Yet,
historically, 18-24 year-olds have had an
abysmal record of voter
turnout. The actions of KU students in
the next few weeks - at
the polls and at the stadium - will tell us a
lot about them.
They will tell us whether students are
willing exercise the true
power that they have and are ready to lead or
- much like Mr. Sandler
who inspires them - they are not yet ready for
prime time.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 23
-- October 7, 2008
The Second Debate: A Tie Goes to the Front
Runner
When examined
at face
value, I think tonight's second presidential
debate was a draw.
However, within the context of the
campaign, that means it was a
win for Obama. McCain came out swinging
and gave a strong
performance with his answer to questions about
the economic crisis. In
fact, if this were a prize fight, one would
say that McCain took the
early rounds. However, Obama's
second-half performance on mostly
foreign policy issues was stronger than his
performance during the
first debate. Obama could
have delivered a knockout blow on the health
care question when he
indicated affordable health care was a "right"
and McCain said it was a
"responsibility." However, Obama blew
the question when he
criticized McCain's plan for portability
across state lines.
Obama was correct to warn against the
dangers of differing state
standards. But to use Delaware's lax
credit card laws as an
example of the perils of applying interstate
commerce rules to health
care was curious - especially since his own
running mate has been
accused of being too cozy with the credit card
companies. Obama talked
about raising taxes on the top five percent of
income earners. When we
talk about tax burdens and tax breaks for the
rich, it is important to
remember that according to a study by Stanford
University's Hoover
Institution, the share of the total tax
burden paid by the top
five percent of income earners in 2004 was 58
percent. That's not
progressive taxation, it's regressive. My
final observation is that
after each debate, a CNN flash poll has had
Obama or Biden winning by
significant margins. I don't think those
polls measure the
success of the debaters. Instead, it is
cognitive dissonance at
work -- every voter hears what he or she wants
to hear. The real
significance of the flash polls is that they
are indications of the
Democrat ticket's true electoral strength --
which is why a draw in
tonight's debate does not bode well for
McCain-Palin.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 22
-- October 3, 2008
The VP Debate: A Thin Edge to Biden
When one
considers that
both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden have
well-earned reputations for verbal
gaffes, last night's one-and-only vice
presidential debate was a
pleasant surprise. Both performed above
expectations. For
Governor Palin, putting together two coherent
and logical sentences
would have exceeded expectations. She
did beyond that -
reestablishing herself as a viable candidate.
She scored some
points in the areas of energy, the economy and
Iraq. For her, the
evening was a resounding success. However, the
same can be said for
Senator Biden. He, too, was able to connect
with Main Street voters.
While Governor Palin often relied on broad
generalities and symbolism
to make her points, Biden was more agile with
the details. The one
moment of true emotion during the debate,
Biden talking about being a
single father with an injured child "who might
not make it," connected
as well with the television audience as did
Palin's homilies on "hockey
moms." Last night's debate did little to
change the
direction of Campaign 2008. However,
both accomplished what they
set out to do: Do no harm.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 21
-- September 28, 2008
The First Debate: A Thin Edge to McCain
Under the
shadow of a looming economic meltdown, John
McCain and Barack Obama held their first of
three scheduled presidential
debates Friday night. Who won? The
answer depends on whom you talk to. Frankly,
this is the season of cognitive
dissonance
where everyone hears what he or she wants to
hear. Since I haven't yet
decided for whom I am going to vote, I'd like
to think I am a fairly
neutral observer. Neither man made a
major gaff and held his own
in areas he is supposedly weak - the economy
for McCain and foreign
policy for Obama. On substance, I'd give the
edge to McCain. The
depth of his answers on foreign policy - the
focus of the debate - were
in sharp contrast to Obama's generalities.
Obama had one ace card
- he opposed the war in Iraq from the outset.
However, McCain's
effective claim to better judgment was based
on his support of the
then-unpopular and now-successful surge.
However, I object to the
very notion that there was a winner and loser
in the
debate.
Each man went in with certain goals.
McCain wanted to demonstrate
his experience and political independence.
He did. Obama wanted
to establish credibility in foreign policy
matters and present himself
as a credible alternative to the old-style
politics McCain represents.
He did. The sad thing is that,
according to early figures,
viewership of the crucial first debate was
down 16 percent from the
first Bush-Kerry debate in 2004. That
means that America has
either made up its mind or just doesn't care.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 20
-- September 8, 2008
Enjoy the Ride
Campaign 2008
continues to amuse and amaze. Less than
12 hours after Barrack
Obama accepted his party's nomination
before 80,000 adoring fans at a Denver
football stadium, John
McCain stole
his thunder. At the very moment many
people were beginning to
write off the republican nominee, the Arizona
Senator pull a rabbit out
of his hat named Sarah Palin.
By selecting the Alaskan
governor as his running mate,
McCain energized his conservative base. Heck,
his TV ratings were
better than Obama's. McCain also became more
credible among the voters
who will decide this election - independents.
And let's not
underestimate the effect the choice has had in
the Western states, a
major battleground this year. During the
past weekend, I
moderated an Editor's Day panel for the KU
School of Journalism. There were
three experienced political consultants on the
panel - Ray
Strother, Walter
Shapiro and Bill
Lacy.
They agreed that Obama has the upper
hand in the election.
But they also agreed that voters are
waiting for a reason to vote
for the Illinois senator. They said it
is like 1980,
when people wanted to vote for a change in the
White House but didn't decide until late that
they were comfortable with Ronald
Reagan.
However, all three also acknowledged
that race -- the two-ton
gorilla sitting quietly in the corner of this
election -- is the real
unknown factor. And they also said that
anyone who says he or she
knows how all of this is going to play out is
blowing smoke. Just
eight weeks to go. Hang on and enjoy the
ride. (Oh, and for the
record, I have now lost 36 pounds. See Vol. 2 No.
17.)
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 19
-- August 20, 2008
Rush the Righteous
Despite what
his detractors might say, Rush
Limbaugh is no dummy. In fact,
Rush the Righteous is Machiavellian
smart. For example, take today's radio
show diatribe. Limbaugh warned presumptive
republican presidential nominee
John McCain that the selection of a
running mate lacking bona fide conservative
credentials will spell doom for the GOP in
November. Rush
the Righteous was reacting -- imagine
that, reacting -- to reports that McCain
is considering either former Pennsylvania
Governor Tom
Ridge or Sen. Joe
Lieberman
(I-Conn.) for the number two spot.
Limbaugh said that the
selection of anyone who isn't pro-life would
cost McCain the election.
I have to admit, it's a clever move.
McCain is trailing in
the polls. If McCain selects a moderate
running mate and loses.
Rush the Righteous can blame the Arizona
Senator for the defeat.
If McCain does what Limbaugh wants and
still loses, the radio
commentator will be able to say that McCain
was a flawed candidate.
In fact, there's strong suspicion in
these quarters that Limbaugh
wants McCain to lose. Call it the Jimmy
Carter
scenario: A weak democrat takes over for an
unpopular republican
administration, bungles his time in office,
and sets the stage the
emergence of a new Ronald
Reagan in 2012. Of course, a
competent Obama
administration would upset Limbaugh's apple
cart. However, the
worst-case scenario for Limbaugh would be that
McCain wins to the
election with a moderate running mate, thus
proving that the
republicans can win and govern without the
blessing of social
conservatives. I'm one republican who
would like to try that one
on for size.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 18
-- August 14, 2008
Campaign 1976
In a matter of
days,
Barack Obama and John McCain will name their
running mates for the fall
campaign. This year, this choice could
be a make-or-break
decision. Both men will try to smooth
the chinks in their
campaign's armor. Obama has two critical
weaknesses, a lack of foreign
policy experience and a need to balance a
perception that he too
different, too far out of the mainstream to
effectively govern. Jimmy
Carter faced those same problems in 1976 and chose Sen.
Walter Mondale
(D-Minn.). It was a brilliant choice
that eased many a voter's
concerns that the former one-term Georgia
governor was not ready for
prime time. History suggests that he
probably wasn't.
However, a legacy of a Middle
East peace settlement isn't bad,
either. New
Mexico Governor Bill Richardson,
a former United Nations ambassador, would be a
good choice -- if he
doesn't have any skeletons in his closet.
Meanwhile, McCain faces the
same problem Carter's 1976 opponent, President
Gerald Ford,
faced. Ford had the Nixon legacy. McCain
has the Bush legacy.
He also faces an added burden-- his age.
Those who remember
Ronald Reagan's second
term
should consider this a legitimate issue.
That's why McCain needs
someone of youth vigor as his running mate.
A more moderate
choice, such as former
Governor Tom Ridge
(R-Pa.) may help. But Ridge's days as
Bush's Secretary of
Homeland Security may be as much a liability
as much as it is a
positive. Weighty decisions echoing of
1976 are coming from both
camps very soon. (Speaking of weight, I have
now lost 25 pounds. See Vol. 2 No. 17.)
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 17
-- July 21, 2008
Walking
For almost a
month, I
have dedicated myself to the proposition of
dieting and exercise to
lose weight. For a fellow who prides
himself in his disciplined
approach to so many aspects of his life, my
weight has been an annoying
life-long problem. There have been times
that I have successfully
lost weight -- 25 pounds in 2002 and 33 pounds
in 2006.
Unfortunately, I gained it all back.
Sure, there were
reasons, including the depression
that follows losing one's spouse. Truthfully,
I was mostly apathetic
about the subject -- a sort of resigned
indifference and a lack of
self-confidence. However, I once again
have the motivation to
lose weight. That motivation comes from
two sources, a lady
friend who has inspired me to take better care
of myself and from my golden
retriever Boomer,
whom I have allowed to get dangerously
overweight
through inactivity. Since June 23, I
have cut back on both
Boomer's and my food rations and have taken
him on daily -- sometimes
twice daily -- walks
through the streets of Lawrence. We are
both losing weight and
are both (I think) feeling better. I am
not sure about Boomer's
weight loss -- I'll weigh him at the vet's
office later this week --
but I'm down approximately 16 pounds.
We've got a lot more
walking to do. However, after a couple
of perfectly lousy years
overshadowed by the death of loved ones, I
think I am finally in the
right mindset to seal the deal and get the job
done. Same goes
for Boomer.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2 No. 16
-- July 6, 2008
Senator No
Former U.S.
Senator
Jesse Helms
(R-N.C.) passed away early Friday morning,
Independence Day, at the age
of 86. The conservative lawmaker served five
terms in the U.S. Senate
starting in January 1973. To many, he
was a staunch defender of
freedom and basic family values. To
others, he was a stubborn,
single-minded politican who opposed civil
rights, gay rights, the
Panama Canal Treaty -- and just about
everything else. (In fact, during his
tenure in office, the democrat-leaning Raleigh
News and
Observer called him "Senator
No." I got to know Senator Helms
as a reporter for the North Carolina
News Network
in the early '80s. Even though I was a
republican and later
worked for a republican governor, I usually
found myself on the
opposite side of the issues -- especially
social issues -- with Helms.
His greatest strength -- and at the same
time his greatest
weakness -- was that he steadfastly (some
would say stubbornly) held
onto his positions. It was this quality
that helped him win
reelection in 1984 over popular and
heavily-favored Governor
Jim Hunt.
Hunt, whom I believe was, for the most
part, a good governor, had
a propensity for "flip-flopping" whenever the
winds of public opinion
changed. The Helms campaign ran a series of
devasting ads asking "Where
do you stand, Jim?" Despite a 3-2 edge in
voter registration, Hunt was
unable to defeat Helms. Senator No was
never seriously challenged after
that. However, that same stubborn streak kept
Helms embedded in the Old
South and often on the wrong side of
history.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 2
No. 15 -- June 23, 2008
Life After Death
I traveled last weekend
to Nashville
for the annual Fillman
Family Reunion.
They have been getting together each summer for
more than 50 years "all because" -- as Brad Paisley
put it -- "two
people fell in love." The Fillmans are my late
wife's family -- and mine, as well.
I am what is known as a "Fillman Out-Law,"
having married into
the family. If you are a part of the family
bloodline, you are a
"Fillman In-Law." Having been a member of the Fillman
family for almost
33 years, I have seen children grow into remarkable
women and men with
families and careers of their own. I have been
around for the
weddings, births, graduations, anniversaries
and, unfortunately,
the funerals. This year's reunion was, in fact,
the second since
the family suffered through a series of devastating
losses during 2006 and 2007 that included my wife, Jan. Last year's
reunion in St.
Louis did
not shy away from the tragedies. We showed old
family movies and
swapped stories about those who were missing, but not
forgotten.
This year's reunion had a different feel to it.
On the one
hand, we were all aware of the family members who had
passed on or were
unable to make it to Music City because of illnesses.
However,
there also was a sense of regeneration as
approximately one-third of
the reunionists were pre-teen children. Seeing
(and hearing) all
those youngsters under foot brought a sense of
optimism to the
proceedings. One can't help but believe that
there may be another 50 or so Fillman Family Reunions.
Life goes on.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
x
|
Vol. 2 No. 14 -- June 3, 2008
A Special Moment
Let's put politics
aside for a
few moments. There's going to be plenty of time
for that in the
coming months. But tonight, a black man stands
as the presumptive
nominee of a major party for the office of President of the United
States. As one who was born two years
before Brown vs.
the Board of Education,
who remembers segregated schools, and remembers the
battle for civil
rights, this is a remarkable moment in our history.
Having spent
much of my adult life in the South, it is hard to
believe that a black
senator from the North could win primaries in South
Carolina, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
As I
indicated in my post of February 9, I am not certain
who I will support
in the upcoming election. John McCain is
a good man. So is Barrack
Obama.
Both men also have flaws. But there is
plenty of time to
discuss that. Let's take in this special moment
in American
history, when we can truly say that this is, indeed, a
land of
opportunity and where dreams
can come true.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
x
|
Vol. 2 No. 13 -- May 23, 2008
Self-Inflicted Chaos
Pity the Democrats.
The
White House is theirs, ripe for the taking. Yet
they just can't
seem to get their act together. First, they elect Howard
Dean as their chairman. Howie is a
dogmatic, arrogant zealot
-- good qualities for a candidate, but very poor for a
chairman who is
supposed to keep the train on the rails. The
party assigns its
convention delegates on a proportional basis, thus
ensuring a long,
drawn-out affair. And then, for good measure, it
chooses to
discipline the people of Michigan and Florida for
exercising their
right to vote when they damn-well please. Put it
all together,
you've got one great big mess. And now Hillary
is doing the only
thing she can to win the nomination - trying
to change the rules in the middle of the game.
She wants Michigan's and Florida's vote to count
after the fact
-- even though she was the only Democrat on the ballot
in both states.
Sound familiar? It's Florida
2000,
when the Democrats attempted to steal the election by
changing the
rules after the votes had been cast. The U.S.
Supreme Court voted
7-2 to halt the unconstitutional
coup
d'etat. It then voted 5-4 to say time had run
out on the process.
Now, eight years later, the Dems risk squandering a
huge advantage because
of self-inflicted chaos.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
x
|
Vol. 2 No. 12 -- May 9, 2008
Chutzpah
There's a great Hebrew
word
used to describe a unique, albeit highly unattractive
quality of a lot
of people sucking in oxygen these days: chutzpah.
These are people who do not recognize any
boundaries and know no shame, Leo
Rosten, a Polish-born author and humorist
remembered for The Joy of Yiddish,
defined chutzpah as "that quality in a man who, having
killed his
mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the
court because he
is an orphan." I am reminded of recent examples
of chutzpah.
There's the university athletic department,
reaping millions of
dollars from the success of its
taxpayer-subsidized teams, trying to squeeze $6,400
out of local merchants
because a victory parade caused cancellation of a team
banquet.
There's the presidential candidate, known for
railing against "a
vast right-wing conspiracy,"
who now says she should be president because she
best represents
"the white working class who didn't go to college."
And then
there's the college professor who says efforts in the
areas of
teaching and service justify a total failure to
conduct research, a
critical
expectation of any professor at a major university.
Conducting and publishing research was part of
the deal the
professor agreed to when joining the faculty. But
that was then
and this is now. Today, the professor picks and
chooses the
aspects of the job to be performed and defends this
selectivity as
"academic freedom." In truth, it is nothing more
than personal
choice. Yet the professor gets indignant when
anyone questions
this lack of scholarship. Now, that's chutzpah.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
x
|
Vol. 2 No. 11 -- April 30, 2008
Christy Bradford
KU's School of
Journalism, as
well as the profession it serves, lost a good friend
April 24.
Christy Bradford, a lecturer at the school for
nearly a decade
following a distinguished career at several
newspapers, died
unexpectedly. In addition to teaching excellence
in writing and
editing, Christy had been the mentor to the
school's
Multicultural Scholars Program. I doubt that she
would have
approved of the many words of praise that honored her
from all corners
of the nation. She wasn't that kind of person.
But I know that
she would have taken special pride in how several of
the scholars
articulated their love and gratitude toward her during
a memorial
service this week. Their inner strength, which Christy
sought to tap
into, came through in their thoughtful eulogies. It is
often a shame
that many of the feelings expressed at the time of
one's passing were
not shared during that person's lifetime. It
begs a couple of
serious -- and unanswerable -- questions: Do we get to
view our own
funerals from another dimension after our passing?
And would we
want to? Who knows? But one thing is for
certain: Heaven just got
itself one hell of a good editor.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 10 -- April 12, 2008
"Be careful out there!"
Recently, I did
something
incredibly brave...or stupid...or both. It has
been more than a
year since my wife's passing. I felt the time
had come to try and
establish some sort of social life. That's not
easy, either
emotionally or logistically. From an emotional
perspective, I
have had to transition from being a loyal, monogamous
husband to one
expected -- initially, at least -- to establish
multiple relationships.
(At least that's what I have been told by female
acquaintances.
Seriously. I'm not making up this
stuff!) From a
logistical point-of-view, meeting people is a real
challenge.
Almost all of the single women I know are people
with whom I work
-- a recipe for disaster.
Nor am I about to go bar-hopping in search of "Miss Right"
(or "Miss
Right Now"). The only real alternative in this highly mediated
society is to
go on
line
-- which is what I have done. I have absolutely no
intention of
discussing the details of my on-line experience -- I'd
like to think
I'm a gentleman who respects the privacy of others.
But I will
say that there are some very nice people out there in
cyberspace in the
same boat in which I find myself. (Apparently, there
are also a lot of
Russian expatriates seeking a quick path to U.S.
citizenship.) The
on-line dating scene reminds me of the line made
famous by
Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (the late Michael Conrad) on
the TV drama Hill Street Blues:
"Be careful out there!"
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 9-- March 27, 2008
It's Anyone's to Lose
Campaign 2008 has been
pretty entertaining to date. Rudy and Hillary were
crowned presumptive nominees last summer. But today,
Rudy is left fondling his Yankees tickets and Hillary
is desperately launching a new "strategy of the week"
(or is it "strategy
of the weak") in an attempt to poach delegates
from the likely Democratic presidential nominee,
Barack Obama. Today we learned that Senator Clinton's negative
ratings are higher than her positive ratings.
And as she gets more desperate and escalates her slash
and burn tactics, those numbers will only get worse. I
was particularly appalled at the rhetoric of Clinton
crony James
Carville, who called New Mexico Governor
Bill Richardson a "Judas" for endorsing Obama.
Where does this sense of entitlement come from?
Frankly, if Obama picks Richardson as his running
mate, I'd be inclined to vote for him. Of course,
Obama has had to spend a lot of time during the past
couple of weeks backpedaling away from his nut
case of a preacher. The best thing going for the
Republicans these days is that Democrats are acting
like Democrats. However, before John McCain starts to
measure the drapes in the Oval Office, he's got some
work to do. His campaign has been anything but a work
of art since he clinched the nomination. And how smart
is it for him to be reminding us -- in both words and
actions -- that he is older
than dirt? His running mate selection could be
the most important since FDR
drafted Harry
Truman in 1944. As winter turns to spring, this
election is wide open for anyone to lose.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 8-- March 9, 2008
One Year
It has been almost one
year since my wife died of a catastrophic cerebral
hemorrhage on March 18, 2007. (See
Vol. 1 No. 1)
Even now, almost a year after the fact, I still
have a distorted sense of time. While it seems like an
eternity since her sudden death, vivid memories of
that horrible Saturday morning burn my consciousness
like a freshly opened wound. With this time warp comes
the loss of a clear vision for the future. Jan and I often talked
about the so-called "golden years" of our lives,
retirement, and grandchildren. We even looked ahead
toward our 50th wedding anniversary in 2025. Now, I
have little sense of what may lay beyond the horizon.
The past is gone and a large chunk of my future has
been stolen. I have little choice but to forge ahead,
one day at a time, mindful of the responsibilities I
have toward my daughter, extended family, friends,
employer, colleagues, students and, of course, to
myself. Fate can be unforgiving, as can the march of
time.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 7-- March 4, 2008
McCain-Guth 2008
I am pleased to
announced that I am a candidate for Vice
President of the United States. Now all I have
to do is convince newly anointed republican
presidential nominee John
McCain that I am his guy. Why McCain? First, I
am a registered republican.
It's not likely that Barack
or Hillary
would want me on their ticket. For the record, if
Barack asks, I'd say yes. If Hillary asks, I'd tell
her to
kiss off. (Sure, I want to be the Veep -- but I
do have principles.) You may ask, "why become a
candidate for Veep?" If McCain wins, I get to live in
lovely public housing in D.C., gain admission to
an exclusive club on
Capitol Hill and get to travel to the
funerals of a bunch of foreign leaders. God
forbid, if something should happen to the Prez, I'd
have the power to do something I've always wanted to
do: Nuke Duke. And
if we lose, I become the answer to a question on Jeopardy!
("Alex, I'll take obscure political has-beens for
$200.") Besides that, there are worse things to do
than spend Labor Day in St. Paul.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 6-- February 24, 2008
Narcissism
Narcissism
is defined as self-love. It seems a suitable topic for
today's blog entry because this is the date of the
80th annual Academy
Awards, a/k/a the Oscars. Can you think of a
more narcissistic group than the folks in Hollywood? I
mean, thank goodness for the Oscars. Without them, the
poor, downtrodden actor class would go unrecognized
and unappreciated. They would have to live in the
shadows of their opulent
and conspicuous lifestyles. Don't get me wrong,
I love a good movie. (I saw one today - Vantage
Point.) However, I am appalled at how
Hollywood's quest for self-adultation often eclipses
the really important stuff, such as war, peace and the
environment. In fairness, actors are not the only
narcissists on the planet. Here's a special shout-out
to the nation's number one narcissistic, delusion,
presidential wannabee, Ralph Nader.
Today, he announced the launch of another run for the
White House. Nader is to Democrats what Ross
Perot is to Republicans. Nader hears the call to
public service. However, one can't help but wonder if
he is hearing the voice of the people or is listening
to the
voices in his head?
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 5 -- February 9, 2008
Obama and McCain
The people of the
United States would be well-served if November's
presidential election were between Sen.
Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen.
John McCain (R-Ariz.). I believe voters would
have a clear choice between two principled and
pragmatic candidates. I believe
Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) and Rep. Ron Paul
(R-Tex.) are principled, but not pragmatic. I believe
Sen.
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) is pragmatic, but
unprincipled. As a person who has been active in
Republican party politics in North Carolina, I can
honestly say that, at present, I don't know who I
would vote for in an Obama-McCain match-up. Both
candidates have strengths and weaknesses. More
importantly, both are decent men who do not appear to
be dogmatic in their approach to governing. I believe
each would reach across the aisle to achieve
compromise. I don't see Huckabee and Paul doing that.
Clinton might try to be bipartisan, but she has a long
record that suggests otherwise. Then, of course,
there's Bill, who will be waiting in the wings -- or
maybe in the infamous windowless
corridor -- anxious to give his advice. There's
a long road yet to travel. However a choice between
Obama and McCain is a win-win situation for America.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 4 -- February 3, 2008
Congress needs Eli Manning's focus
The New York Giants
pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl
history tonight, defeating the previously unbeaten New England Patriots
17-14. Some of the build-up to the game was
overshadowed by renewed allegations that the Patriots
had improperly videotaped the St. Louis Rams'
final practice before their Super Bowl XXVI match-up.
This comes on the heels of the Patriots' record fine
for violating league rules and videotaping the
defensive signals of the New York Jets during the
first game of the 2007 season. And then there's the
disclosure that the NFL destroyed the tapes from that
infraction. That has prompted Sen. Arlen
Specter (R-Pa.) to demand an explanation and
call for an investigation. In turn, that prompts me to
ask the question: "Why is Congress wasting its time --
and taxpayers' money -- investigating a violation of
NFL rules?" As already stated in this space (see
January 15, below), there are a lot of things more
worth of our lawmakers' attention than cheating in
sports. Of course, this sort of stuff may be in
Specter's blood. After all, he was a junior counsel to
the Warren
Commission and the chief architect of the "single
bullet theory," the believe that one bullet
struck both Texas
Governor John Connolly and
President John Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
Don't get me wrong -- I believe the "single bullet
theory." But I also believe that the good senator
shouldn't be wasting his time trying to prove that Bill
Belichick is really Lee
Harvey Oswald. The only assassin that really
matters in this drama is Eli
Manning -- he killed the Patriots.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 3 -- January 26, 2008
Don't cry for me Carolina
Sen. Barack Obama
easily won the South Carolina Democratic Presidential
Primary tonight. He did so, despite an especially
hypocritical campaign by his chief rival for the
nomination,
Sen. Hillary Rotweiler Clinton. Just a few
months ago, Sen. Clinton had a huge lead in the
Palmetto State. However, as her lead
disappeared, HRC called out the "Big
Dog" himself, her husband. And in a particularly
cynical move, former President Bill Clinton used the
race card to bolster his wife's faltering campaign. By
injecting race into the democrat campaign, the former
president pursued the same kind of
Southern Strategy over which he has ridiculed
republicans for years. It certainly failed in South
Carolina, where a large percentage of white voters
chose Obama. Whether, in the long run, Slick
Willie's wink and a nod toward racism will work
to HRC's benefit remains to be seen. It may be that
the only thing Slick Willie accomplished in South
Carolina is to raise serious doubts about his wife's
viability as a candidate. Is a vote for Hillary really
a vote for her husband? Does she have the strength to
tell him to shut up and go home? Is she for real or is
Bill the power behind the throne? Will we be electing
the first woman president or Eva
Peron? Of course, if the Clinton campaign
continues on this cynical tact, the voters will likely
render the entire issue moot.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 2-- January 15, 2008
Fiddling while Rome burns
Great news, America!
The war in Iraq continues to drag on, Iran seeks to
destabilize the Middle East, illegal immigration
remains a boil on the body politic, the economy is
headed toward recession, the environment is headed
into the toilet, and zealots on the right and left are
trying to curb your right to free expression. But have
no fear -- the U.S. Congress is on the case! Why, just
today our heroes on the Hill tackled the most serious
threat to Western civilization -- the
use of steroids and other performance enhancing
substances in Major League Baseball. One of the
biggest humps on Hill,
Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is
threatening to investigate Miguel
Tejada of the Houston Astros because of
inconsistencies in his public testimony regarding Rafael
Palmiero's alleged use of steroids. Waxman --
aptly named because of his waxy mustache -- is chair
of the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Note that the acronym is COGR -- pronounced "codger."
Thank you Hank for keeping your eye on the ball and
addressing the only issue that really matters. By the
way, Hank, when you finish cleaning up baseball, can
your committee of codgers deal with that other great
national tragedy, the Spears sisters, Britney and
Jamie?
Screw the war, the environment and that other silly
stuff.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
Vol. 2 No. 1 -- January 1, 2008
The More Things Change...
Another new year has
arrived. Depending on your personal disposition, it is
a time for hope and/or dispair. In the coming year,
the people of the United States will elect a new
president -- that process
beginning in Iowa later this week. For American media,
the horse
race began months ago. At least the pundits
finally will have some real votes to ponder. The war in Iraq
moves into its sixth calendar year with no end in
site. The recriminations will continue in Major League
Baseball, which has brought new meaning to the
sloagan "better living through chemistry." (If members
of the
Baltimore Orioles used performance enhancing
drugs during the past decade, can they get their money
back?) No doubt the media's obsession with celebrity
will continue. More people will watch American Idol
than will vote in the presidential election.
Iran, Venezuela,
Russia
and China
will continue to excel in the one area each has truly
mastered -- being a royal pain in the ass. (By the
way, when Time named Vladimir
Putin its "Man of the Year," I was surprised
that Al
Gore didn't demand a recount.) And if a comet
were to hit the earth and destroy all life on the
planet, Keith
Olbermann -- Anderson Cooper's evil blow-dried
twin (see Vol. 1 No. 8)
-- will with his dying breath blame President Bush.
Put on your hip-waders. Here comes 2008.
That's it for now. Fear
the Turtle.
|
